The Chief Government Officer of the Nigeria Monetary Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Bakari, has highlighted the pivotal function of the Bank Verification Quantity (BVN) in Nigeria’s struggle towards monetary crimes.
Talking on the Excessive-Stage Roundtable on Public-Personal Partnerships (PPPs) to Fight Monetary Crimes in Abuja, Bakari described the BVN as transformative for the nation’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) framework.
The occasion, collectively hosted by the NFIU and the London Inventory Alternate Group (LSEG), introduced collectively stakeholders to discover methods for tackling monetary crimes by enhanced cooperation.
BVN as a game-changer
Bakari credited the BVN initiative, a partnership between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and business banks, for considerably enhancing monetary transaction transparency and decreasing id fraud.
“The BVN offers each bank customer with a singular biometric identifier linked to all their accounts, enhancing monitoring capabilities and decreasing fraudulent actions,” she mentioned.
This initiative, based on Bakari, accentuates the potential of PPPs to drive systemic impression in combating monetary crimes.
Tackling a fancy world risk
Bakari pressured that monetary crimes, typically worldwide in nature, exploit regulatory and enforcement gaps.
“These crimes undermine financial integrity, threaten nationwide and world safety, and facilitate the unfold of illicit items and weapons that destabilize areas,” she mentioned.
- She added that no single group can fight monetary crimes in isolation, advocating for stronger cooperation amongst stakeholders to share intelligence and align methods.
- In accordance with her, PPPs provide a structured platform to pool sources, share actionable insights, and counter monetary crimes in any respect ranges.
- Bakari known as for nearer collaboration with worldwide companions, such because the LSEG, to bolster Nigeria’s participation in world monetary crime prevention initiatives.
Name for clear investments
In the meantime, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Ojo, additionally addressed the roundtable, emphasizing the necessity for clear and clear investments.
“Collaboration is essential to combating monetary crime and inspiring clear funding. PPPs have to be vetted by the NFIU to make sure funds are correctly invested in societal improvement, quite than being misappropriated,” Ojo mentioned.
He urged authorities companies to enrich one another’s efforts, fostering shared values and a unified method to monetary crime prevention.
“We would like investments which have clear trails, that align with our nationwide objectives, and that we may be pleased with as a individuals,” he added.
What it’s best to know
A latest directive from the CBN has mandated each monetary account, together with that of fintechs, to be linked with BVN earlier than it may be operational.
- This ensures that each account proprietor is correctly recognized by their banks and may be simply traced in case of fraud.
- In accordance with information from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the overall registered BVN within the nation stood at 63.4 million as of September 2024.
- As of July 2024, NIBSS information reveals that the variety of energetic bank accounts in Nigeria stood at 231.1 million.
Whereas a single BVN may be linked to a number of accounts of a person, the information signifies that there’s a huge hole between the registered BVNs and the variety of bank accounts within the nation.
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